SYC and Powerboat Racing in the Blake Sea

Recently I, Mark Twain White, sent out a notecard to many in the sailing community addressing a number of issues, not the least of which was why we at Starboards Yacht Club now host powerboat races in addition to sailboat races. I have included that section on powerboat racing as a new page here at the journal for those of you that did not see the notecard and so that everyone that cares to can share a link to others that might not understand why SYC has taken this controversial step. You can click on "Why SYC Hosts Powerboat Races in the Blake Sea" to read the story.

Who Administers the Blake Sea?

There is a lot of misinformation and even disinformation circulating in SL as to what role I, MarkTwain White, play in the Blake Sea. I have just uploaded a new page called "Who Administers the Blake Sea" I hope you will take time to read it and to help enlighten folks who do not understand the nature of the Blake Sea (an arranged recreation area that exists because of a partnership between Linden Lab and the owners of the United Sailing Sims).

New Improved Blake Sea Combined Calendar

The new Blake Sea Combined Calendar

Just in time for the increased activity in the Blake Sea is the new and improved Blake Sea Combined Calendar. For the past two years the yacht clubs of the United Sailing Sims and others close by have been using the Blake Sea Combined Calendar to share with each other and SL boating events in the Blake Sea area.

Gemma Vuckovic has been maintaining the calendar for some time now. And now she has released the calendar on a Wordpress page. The new calendar can be found on the side bar of the Journal as well as the sidebar of the new Starboards Website.

The direct address for the new calendar is: http://gemmavuckovic.wordpress.com/combined-sailing-calender-2014/

If you have a club that plans to hold events in the Blake Sea you need to contact Gemma for instructions on how to post to the calendar. If you are planning to use any of the start lines in the Blake Sea you should contact the yacht club closest to that line to make arrangements for your event.

The Fleet Honors Fanci Beebe

On Monday night a spontaneous event occurred in the Blake Sea area that brought together three communities in a sim filling event to honor one of our own.

The SL sailing community and the United Sailing Sims recently lost one of their key leaders to cancer. Fanci Beebe was one of the the driving forces behind the Sailor’s Cove sims and Fisher’s Island Yacht Club passed last week. Her SL partner Patrick Leavitt announced on Saturday Fanci’s passing. She died at home surrounded by family. SL memorial services are being planned.

Over in the Fanci’s Deep sims (named for Fanci) we have created a small island where folks can come by and leave a memorial in her honor. Fanci’s Memorial Island is located at Fanci's Deep NE (15/14/22) and will stay in place through October. The memorial will then be moved to Union Passage and the Fanci’s Deep facilities there.

Fanci’s Deep is a new development in the United Sailing Sims that will serve the needs of three communities. Merfolk are creating a Mer Community in the four and a half sims centered on Fanci’s Deep. Additionally the pirate community now uses Fanci’s Deep for their contested water battles (now that the Contested Water sims in the Blake Sea have been closed to full rezz and combat). And of course the sailing community reaps the benefit of these changes by having  the southeastern portion of the Blake Sea returned to peaceful sailing and boating.

Last night the Blake Navy and Pirates organized a fleet to sail past Fanci’s Memorial Island and fire broadside salutes to Fanci. Sailors and Merfolk from all over SL were there to witness and participate in the event. The island. which  is located at the four corner intersection of the four Fanci’s Deep region, filled up before the event started and the overflow crowd spilled into the other three Fanci’s Deep regions.

It was very exciting and very touching to witness the some dozen ships of the fleet sail in from the west and pass the Memorial and crowd guns firing out to sea in honor of Fanci. Many thanks to Amanda Dallin and Blue Manbi who organized the fleet on short notice.

The History of the Blake Sea

After two long years the full story of the Blake Sea can now be told. Click below.

The History of the Blake Sea